Frustrated and disappointed are two adjectives that Jamestown Ironmen head coach Dan Daikawa used to describe the state of his hockey team following Saturday's 4-2 loss at the hands of the Port Huron Fighting Falcons.
The Jamestown Ironmen dropped their fourth game in a row in North American Hockey League action at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena.
Port Huron (21-22-3) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, beating Ironmen goaltender Blake Wojtala only 2:38 into the game. The Fighting Falcons added another goal with 11:36 left in the second period to extend their lead to 2-0.
Article Photos
Jamestown Ironmen goalie Blake Wojtala blocks a shot in front of the net during Saturday’s North American Hockey League game at Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena. See additional photos at cu.post-journal.com.
P-J photo by Scott Reagle
Jamestown forward Ross Pavek answered with a power-play goal less than four minutes later to cut the Port Huron lead to 2-1 heading into the intermission.
Assists came from Ryan Urso and Dylan Zink.
The Ironmen faced another two-goal deficit as Port Huron pushed their lead to 3-1 with a goal 3:09 into the third period. The score remained that way until Kenny Curtis drilled home a slap shot for a power-play goal to bring Jamestown back to within one with 1:42 left in regulation. Assists came from Evan Ritt and Tyler Minx.
But Port Huron had an answer every time the Ironmen produced a positive play. The Fighting Falcons tacked on another goal with just under a minute left in the game to seal the victory.
The Ironmen were outshot by the visitors, 34-33, and Wojtala took the loss in net with 30 saves on the night.
Daikawa reiterated in the locker room after the game that his team's goal from day one has been to make the playoffs, and that their goal is still very attainable.
"As a team, we are frustrated and we could all use a little break," said Daikawa. "We have to wake up tomorrow morning and refocus."
Jamestown will have a chance to regroup from their worst losing streak of the season (four games) next weekend. The Ironmen will travel to the Soo for a pair of games with the North Division-leading Eagles on Friday and Saturday night.
Jamestown (27-13-4) sits four points behind the Eagles (29-10-4) in the North Division standings after losing a pair of home games to the Soo this past Thursday and Friday. Daikawa has faith in his squad to capitalize on their opportunity and have a successful road trip this weekend.
"If we can go up there (to the Soo) and win some games, we can climb right back into first, and this little hiccup of losses will be behind us," he said.